A thermal printer has a thermal head arranged along a conveying path of thermal paper having a thermal sensitive layer. The thermal head prints information on the thermal paper.
A platen roller is arranged opposite the thermal head for pressing the thermal paper against the thermal head. After printing, the leading edge of the printed thermal paper is interposed between the thermal head and the platen roller until subsequent printing is initiated.
In this respect, if the initiation of the subsequent printing is delayed for a long time period, the leading edge of the thermal paper may be deformed. Therefore, when the subsequent printing is initiated, the leading edge of the thermal paper may be jammed in the conveying path.